A wire grid polarizer (WGP) can be used in an application with high temperatures, such as for example computer projectors. As computer projectors decrease in size and increase in brightness, due to customer demand, the need for WGPs that can endure a high temperature environment also increases.
Selectively-absorptive WGPs are particularly susceptible to damage in high-light-intensity computer projectors because they absorb a large percent of incident light. Such WGPs typically have wires that include a reflective portion (e.g. aluminum) and an absorptive portion (e.g. silicon). The absorptive portion can absorb about 80% of one polarization of light, and thus about 40% of the total amount of light. Much of the heat from this absorbed light conducts to the reflective portion of the wire, which can melt, thus destroying the WGP.